The potting media
must satisfy the following criteria. It must be well draining
(wetting the entire media evenly, and then escaping the container
freely), able to hold some nutrients (and able to be leached out
if in excess), long life span (able to withstand breaking down
too fast), brittle enough for fine feeder roots to penetrate the
soil evenly and without obstruction, and serve as a ballast if
plants are top heavy(especially during windy periods). With these
characteristics in mind, it is most likely that you will need
to create your own media from scratch. Most commercial mix tends
to be overly saturated with peatmoss and raw composts.
High amounts of these components could lead to root rot and nutritional
disorders. A simple mixture containing any three or more of the
following will work fine. The components I often recommend includes
Supersoil potting mix, pumice, fine
to medium redwood/orchid bark, volcanic cinders(granite and gravel
may be substituted), and other aggregates (not sand). I also like
to add chicken grit (found at most feed stores) and crushed granite. Use larger cinder pieces or rocks to cover drain holes of your pots so they are not blocked from the soil mixture. Mix the soil
components evenly in a bucket or tray. Use a pot that is not much larger than the original pot the plant was growing in. A gradual increase in pot size allows your plants to dry off easily and subject your plants to less dangers due to over-watering and diseases. Add some of this potting mix to your pot adding more gravel or cinders to make your pots heavier and more freely draining. Adjust the root ball after its been unpotted in the center of your new pot. Fill in gradually with more soil mixture adding some cinder or gravel pieces to fill in between gaps and spaces to keep the soil around this new root ball free-draining. Pat down the soil firm as settling will occur and loss of soil around some root areas may prove to be dangerous than beneficial. Adding a top layer of coarse
media like granite, gravel or cinders will also help set your
plant upright, add some insulation and keep weeds at a minimal.
Your plant can withstand a day without watering. You may water slightly the next day and allow them to dry off before night. Water more freely on warm days and water generously when plants have settled and subject to warm windy days. It is best to water as early morning as possible so that the potting media remains dry by nightfall.
Adding some Mag-Amp fertilizers (7-40-6) will help provide a wealth of phosphorus as the plants grow. This phosphorus will supply nutrients needed for flowering when the plants become root bound and steadfast in growth. Supplemental feeding of a soluble fertilizer such as Peter's Special will also benefit your plant's growth to adjust to its new pot.
If you should live in a rainier area, use more gravel or cinders cutting down the soil mixture down to less than a third or even a quarter. In areas of frequent rainfall, your soil must be free draining, almost like a soil mix for orchids otherwise your plants may rot. Using smaller pots will also help your plants dry out faster than larger soaked pots.
On specimen plants
where transplanting will be at a minimal, I like to use more coarse
materials in my potting mixture. This will always keep the soil
free-draining and prevent compaction at the root zone. Instead
of using any fine redwood composts/potting soil, I like to just
use medium and fine redwood/orchid bark instead. Then add non-degradable
aggregates (like cinders, gravel, granite). Keeping the media
well draining is very important to larger specimen plants. Even
when just adding these aggregates and some organic source, some
breakdown of particles into soil will occur and this will be available
to the fine feeder roots. This is normal and expected, but not
so much as to create problems long-term on these flowering-only
plants. As most established plants don't really require much soil for growth. This is why the initial growing of your juveniles are importantAs your plants mature into thickly trunked specimens, it is these plants that can withstand the neglect and still flower without water or care. But you must get your plants to this stage before you can neglect them in this manner.
